Trancoso

The Jewish presence in Trancoso is prior to the 14th century, and it is likely that its community was already living there in 1273, when the São Bartolomeu Fair begun. The King Pedro I conceived in 1363 the judiaria apartada, (…)na rua da metade da vila (…) onde sempre tinham vivido (…),however in Trancoso, the Jews were owner of several houses in many streets. They were many and wealthy, more than shoe makers, merchants, weavers or tailors, they loan money, and they were house owners and lived from tenancy. Some had privileges from the king, like David Borcas, Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho servant, Trancoso’s mayor dismissed for the communal job.

In the 15th century, Trancoso Jews asked King João II to enlarge the synagogue, due to the increasing number of the community, which during the following century was the largest in Beira Interior, with more than five hundred Jews living in Trancoso. After the Portuguese Inquisition establishment (1536), perhaps because of the messianic significance the Jews attributed to Bandarra’s Trovas, prophet born in this city , the inquisitors entered in Trancoso and spread the horror among the New Christians.

Nowadays Trancoso’s Jewish and New Christian Heritage legacy still lives in the written documents, local traditions and in buildings such as the Gato Preto House, or Poço do Mestre (Master’s well), and other dwellings of the historic centre. This legacy contributed to build the Isaac Cardoso’s Jewish Cultural Center and Bandarra House.